Nice stuff, and I love that you put it out there to get comments. I think Sultan and Shirley have a similar element in their stories (kid wants freedom, parents want control) so you wouldn’t want to run them back-to-back. My favorite is Max’s line about getting hugged all the time, with Sultan’s “my bad” as a close second.

I think the Shirley and Max spots do a better job of promoting the emotion behind the product (cell phones & computers) and at the same time still promoted some important features that would drive purchase intent; locate my child (phone) and affordable & cool (netbook).

My favorite: Shirley; she had the best energy, her enthusiasm for her job is memorable.

I partially agree with what Kevin said. Max’s story made me genuinely chuckle with his closing punchline. Although we’re not just going for an entertaining spot he did also have a good story to be made valid.

I also agree with… oh, I just realized both comments before me are from a Kevin. Haha, well… the second Kevin – Shirley did have a great energy to her but I had to watch a few times to really capture that it was a gift for a girl going into middle school. Plus, it’s a cell phone. But for school (middle, at that?) I think laptops and things that can be tied into studies are better, at least for parents getting school gifts. Promoting BBY Mobile is a good idea, though.

I liked that we had a story to promote dot com as an option but the story didn’t quite fit for back to school. In fact only Max and Sultan (awesome name by the way just like Power earlier in the year) truly mentioned going to school, aside from Shirley’s subtle mention of it. I just think the mindset of our customers watching this will subconsciously gain mild interest if they are a parent with a child going to school since we’re not blatantly shouting out BACK TO SCHOOL in the ad. Then again, these are rough cuts so I may be completely wrong with the final outcome.

All are good valid stories. Sultan and Max were the most appealing.

Barry-

I have been following your blog since January and have watched every video you put up for review. I am a fan of this campaign, but this was the first time where I thought each video, even without music and images, stands on their own. Not one of these video’s feels like a “sell” to me. I feel like I’m hearing about something cool from a friend that I need to go and check out. The only one that has any feelings of a “Sell” is the Max video, but his humor far out weigh that feeling for me.

Thanks again for sharing.

Max is a scream.

Barry – I love these as always….as an employee there are always so many cool stories, and these do a great job of re-telling these people’s “true stories”, but they also still represent so many similar stories throughout the entire company!!
As a GM, I am a little concerned about Jessica’s dotcom story…..as we learned with the rock speakers, these ads sometimes are a little more powerful in “selling’ something specific than we intended to (i.e. we weren’t trying to sell rock speakers, but suddenly people were coming in all the time saying “i want to get those rock speakers”).
I am concerned that her “order it in one store and pick it up in another” sends a specific message that doesn’t match up with our standard procedures. In real life, the parents would need to be the ones to pick up the dock since they paid for it….and although the commercial doesn’t state one way or the other, it could be implied the daughter went to go pick it up (which we are discouraged from allowing).
Anyway….it’s not overtly wrong, but felt I should share the thought I had when watching (I know in my store I would make that exception in a heartbeat, but I can’t speak for 1000+ stores).
GREAT JOB again though….it is a great campaign, and it’s been interesting watching other companies now start to do similar things!!!!! Now you just need to get my wife on one of them because she’d be great!! She went to CA last year for her audition, but her ad didn’t make it…..I think you should give her another shot….what better story than an outgoing female GM telling one of her “true stories”??????? lol

You are right about the .com pickup ad from my POV. In the story, Jessica told she clearly meant that the parents bought it at their house, then flew to see their daughter and picked the gift up when they got to her city. But the ad we cut doesn’t explicitly state that and could thus be interpreted that you can buy it online. We have to work that one to make it more clear.
And your right about the intent of the rock speaker ad. We intended to imply that we had many inexpensive gifts for Dad’s Day. The rock speakers were the prop. Despite ramping them up, we got caught short. Very sorry that happened.

Forsooth, my words are quoted back to me whenever I reference Shakespeare! How sublime! Well, play on, for that which we call a rose…

I really enjoyed all of them.

Sultan’s was a good basic story about laptops; however, it doesn’t urge me into going to a Best Buy store to purchase a laptop. I could’ve enjoyed a bit more energy.

Max did an amazing job with his. It was fun to watch him, but the whole “how could you not hug this?” at the end was a bit much for me.

Jessica was adorable to watch, but the story didn’t scream “back to school” to me, at all. I think this one would be great for online purposes. Maybe have her on bestbuy.com so people can click on her. Or maybe you can add some where she’s stating that it is a back to school gift. I would truly appreciate it.

I have to agree with Kevin Myers however… Shirley does have the most energy. I really enjoyed watching her tell her story. She seems very passionate about her job. More and more young kids are starting to get cell phones these days and I think she did a superb job in explaining parents that getting a cell phone for their kids doesn’t only benefit the child, but them as well. A lot of people don’t see cell phones as a gift, and that’s why this one sparked my attention. They usually think laptops when they think of Best Buy. I think customers should start thinking of Best Buy as a place for their cell phone needs as well. This one adds a twist. Cell phones can be an inexpensive gift and with today’s economy, I think this one is the winner.

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Barry Judge » Blog Archive » Back to School TV Rough Cuts [link to post]

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Every time I see these adds, I have only one question. Where are these mythical helpful employees? I have shopped at several Best Buy stores for DVDs, accessories, cell phone, and a television, and the service has been atrocious each time. I work for a retailer that carries some of the same items, and we have gained several customers who went into the Best Buy next door and couldn’t get decent service. Even though our prices are often higher, they appreciate the great service that we provide and come to us instead. As someone who looks for the best bargain and lowest price, I still occassionally shop at Best Buy, but I certainly don’t come in for the customer service experience.

Nice choices on all of these, but you asked for feedback so here it is:
Sultan: does it really matter that the son is an only child? The mom is going to miss him either way. Can those few seconds be used to make the message stronger, using Geek Squad to upgrade / improve her computer, etc…
Shirley: I love her energy and the selling point of the family locator. As a mom, that’s huge info for me and will be a selling point for me even though I’m years away from getting one for my child (he’s only 5).
Jessica: cute story, but confusing, why not just ship it to her from dot com? Can someone in the store help with the ordering directly so that the deal is closed before the parents leave the store? It seems like a hole in the system that could have the parents buying from somone else if they’re going home to buy it online. Sorry, that’s not about the spot, but as a previous poster said, it’s confusing.
Max: great story, his delivery is a little muddled at the end because he’s speaking too fast. I really had to be paying attention to get that it was the kid coming back to the store to hug him. Sidebar: does anyone else think he looks a little like Tom Cruise?

Hi Barry, I enjoy your blog and the behind the scenes access these type posts offer as well as the input you seak, which I’m glad you get useful responses.

The two spots I like the most are the Jessica and Max spots. Although all of these demonstrate the expertise of your employees, I think these are the two spots that emphasize services that Best Buy offers that differentiate it from other big box retailers (Geek Squad and the ability to pick it up in the other city). These will get viewers to raise their eyes more so than an employee just making a great suggestion.

I also like the Max spot because I think the college situation is one that many families can relate to if they have children around that age, so you immediately pull them in by establishing rapport based on the story.

Hope my two cents helps! Good luck!

I also thought that the dot.com spot implied the daughter was able to pick it up, which she shouldn’t be able to do since you need the credit card used to make the purchase to pick up a dot.com order.

I was kind of surprised there wasn’t something around the dorm room. I know I wish we would have had inexpensive small LCD televisions when I went to college, not to mention all of the other cool dorm-friendly tech we carry.

My friend Andrea Grizzle told me her story and it was a good one! Very interesting compared to these. Why didn’t she get a rough cut? I would have voted for hers!

Thanks Ashley! I’m so excited I’m on the website. But I’d love even more to have my commercial picked! But I don’t see it on here. Give mine a chance!

I’m going off to college and Sultan’s seemed to accomodate the parents more than the student. You need to get the kids excited about back to school! Not so much the parents. Just a suggestion!

This may seem terrible. But I find Rachel very unappealing. I find myself changing the channel when her commercial comes on. Stay away from people like her for future commercials.